March 24-27, 2010

Come join us at the Homewood Suites , Lancaster, PA  for the  Annual Quilt Show & Contest March 24-27 . We’re confident that you’ll feel right at home in our warm, cozy suites after enjoying the first Quilt Show held in downtown Lancaster. There will be a lot to see and do:

• 400 beautiful quilts in the AQS Quilt Contest
• Special quilt exhibits
• 300 vendor booths
• Classes, lectures, and special events with national quilt instructors

Special events:

• Wednesday – An Evening with Karen K. Stone – For the Fun of It!
• Thursday – It’s the Eleanor Burns Show – Live in Lancaster
• Friday – A Love Affair with Fabric – Charlotte Angotti
• Saturday – Brunch and Fun with Helen Squire & All-Star Review

Admission & Show Hours

Advance Registration Prices:
AQS Members: $8 Daily; $15 Multi-day
Non-members: $10 Daily; $30 Multi-day

Admission at the Show Prices:
AQS Members: $9 Daily; $17 Multi-day
Non-members: $11 Daily; $30 Multi-day

Ordering Admission in Advance: Save money and avoid standing in line at the show – purchase your admission in advance. Your name badge (which includes admission on advance registrations) will be mailed for registrations received by February 10, 2010.

Registrations received between February 11, 2010 and March 3, 2010 will be processed and name badges will be held for pickup at the Workshop desk. All international name badges are held for pickup at the Workshop Desk.

Last day for advance registration is March 3, 2010, at 3:00 p.m. for individuals and tour groups. After that date, registration will be handled at the show on a first-come basis.

Show Hours

Wednesday through Friday, March 24 to 26, 9am to 6pm
Saturday, March 27, 9am to 5pm

For more information visit www.americanquilters.com.

Those who plan to wear a kilt this Celtic Fling and PA Renaissance Faire season should recognize that a kilted man inevitably attracts admiring spectators drawn like moths to the flame, or termites to a caber.  These admirers, who are often given to calling out such endearments as “Kiltie, kiltie, cauld bum, cannae keep a warm one!” or “Donald! Where’s your troosers?” see a kilted Scot as an adventurer who walks the thin line between Presbyterian and prurient, between bard and barbarian, between tradition and tramp.  However, to avoid inadvertently offending the delicate sensibilities of spectators, men should observe the following rules of kilt etiquette:

1. Walk, do not run, when heading for an ale at O’Malley’s or to claim a front row seat at a Wailing Bansheee performance.  If you must walk quickly, keep both hands on your sporran.  If your sporran is up around your neck, you’re walking much too fast.
2. Do not walk up the Globe stairs for an autographed CD.
3. Do not stoop, crouch, or squat to pick up anything from the floor.  Have a friend pick up the object for you.  If your friend will not oblige, kick the object to a secluded place before you retrieve it.  If you have no friends, then stooping, crouching or squatting in a kilt may only worsen your lonely condition.
4. Do not wear shiny new shoes.  Dull them a little (perhaps with mud or mince) or wear spats and establish your credentials as the fashion trend setter that you are.
5. Do not stand at the edge of reflective fountains, or any mirror-like puddles.  On those formal events where you must wear silver buckles on your shoes, do not stand still for longer than five seconds at a time.  Dance instead.
6. However, dance nothing more boisterous than a slow waltz.  Reserve wild reels, jigs, and flings for family gatherings where your identity requires no further elaboration, or for those occasions when your anonymity is assured.  Limbo dancing in a kilt at any time definitely breaches kilt etiquette.
7. Respond only with an enigmatic smile to any questions about what is worn under your kilt.  Avoid responding with the tired cliché “Nothing is worn under my kilt, everything is in fine working order.”  Similarly, do not offer any demonstrations of what is worn under your kilt.  An offer such as “I’ll show your mine if you show me yours” can be misconstrued as the opening salvo in an ever escalating series of challenges and exhibitions which might be illegal in public places, even between consenting adults.
8. Shaving of one’s legs is unnecessary.  However, hirsute highlanders who elect to wax the hair from their legs should wax the whole leg and not just the knee area displayed between kilt and hose.  Such false economies only contribute to the myth of the cheap Scot.  Also, it is considered in poor taste to suggest private viewings of your “kilt-line”.
9. Do not sit with one leg crossed over the other.  This position requires you to un-cross your legs later, a tricky maneuver mastered by only a select few after years of training.  Always sit with your knees no more than six inches apart, thus creating enough shadow for mystery and discretion.  Avoid soft recliners, swings or rocking chairs where the sitter’s knees may move above shoulder level.
10. Be sure of the context of the conversation before making comments about global warming, air conditioning, or the ozone layer; none of these topics necessarily pertains to the creature comforts of a kiltie.

Observance of these simple guidelines allows one to wear the kilt with panache and ensures your own confident decorum, all while providing your adoring audience with a stirring but not unsettling spectacle.

Kilts

Feb 25-26 (Farm Equipment and Antiques) at the Rawlinsville Fire Company.

Feb 27 (Furniture, Antiques, Crafts and Food) at the Strasburg Fire Company No. 1.

March 6 (All items mentioned above, including Livestock, Buggies and Tools) at the Bart Township Fire Company.

March 13 (All items mentioned above, including Garden Supplies, Barns, Utility Sheds and Trailers) at the Gordonville Fire Company.

March 20 (Building Materials Mud Sale) at the Bart Township Fire Company.

March 20 (Wood crafts, Furniture, Antiques, Crafts, Farm Equipment and Food) at the Penryn Fire Company and Limerock Parochial School.

March 27 (Horse Drawn Carriages, Buggies, Wagons, New and Used Furniture, Quilts, Crafts, Dry Goods and Groceries) at the Gap Fire Company.

April 3 (Crafts, Plants, Antiques, Farm Equipment, Furniture, Food, Buggies, Wagons, Groceries and Horses) at the Robert Fulton Fire Company.

April 10 (Quilts, Horses, Crafts, Building Materials, Lawn Equipment, New and Used Furniture) at the Rawlinsville Fire Company.

June 25 (Antiques, Harness and Tack, Specialty Items, Quilts, Crafts, Carriages, Buggies, Wagons and Food) held across the street from the Bird-in-Hand Family Restaurant.

June 26 (Hardware, Shop Tools, Plants, Furniture, Antiques, Crafts, Hay and Straw, Quilts, Horses and Food) at the Refton Fire Company.

Aug 28 (Plants, Groceries, Antiques, Furniture, Lumber, Tack, Sheds, Gazebos, Equipment, Buggies, Quilts and Horses) at the Kinzers Fire Company.

Our hope is that providing this schedule will be helpful to you in planning your next trip to Lancaster County. While in our area, we recommend that you stay at one of our clean and comfortable hotels. Reserve now and take in a show at one of our theaters or visit any of our popular attractions. We offer many packages that include a theater, attraction and restaurant for your convenience.

Lancaster Airport located 5 miles north of Lancaster city is a local airport with flights into and out of BWI daily on Cape Air.

Harrisburg International Airport is located North West of Lancaster just off the 283 and has several carriers with flights from many locationss.

There are positives and negatives to both larger and smaller airports, but if you are willing to pay just a little extra and don’t mind making a connection then maybe flying into MDT or LNS is right for you. Here are some of the benefits of using our more local airports.

Such benefits include:

1. Shorter distance to desired Lancaster locations.

2. Less congestion of the larger hub airports and larger cities.

3. Less time getting through security

4. A more personal customer service experience where you are one of hundreds or thousands rather then one of several tens of thousands.

5. Less delays or cancellations

From Harrisburg International Airport (MDT)

View Larger Map

From Lancaster Airport (LNS)

View Larger Map

• This year the event will host its 5th Anniversary, and the Lititz LEO Club has plans to make it even more successful than the previous 4 years. With the addition of the Winter Wonderland Carnival, the event became three events into one – the Ice, the Chili Cook-off and the Carnival!

• There will also be the popular Friday Night Block Party held in the streets of Lititz! You will enjoy the beautiful and exquisite ice sculptures along with the Chili Cook-off . The Winter Wonderland Carnival will include Carnival games, interactive amusements, food demonstrations, contests, and other fun events which will occur in the gym of the Lititz Elementary School simultaneously with the Chili Cook-off on Saturday. The Carnival plans to be bigger and better than in past years and an event to really pull families into Lititz for the day. The LEO’s are also planning to include Sunday as a day of events for the Festival and are working with local organizations to accomplish that.

• We welcome you all to this exciting event.

•For more information you can email the Club (LititzLeoClub@gmail.com) or call (717) 625-2388.

Working at a hotel it is not uncommon for us to get 2-3 phone calls a day, 5-6 a day on busy leisure travel weekends, from guest’s who have left items behind in their guest rooms. We then package these items and send them home. We know at the hotel that there are many reasons why items are left behind, waking late for the board meeting, stressed out from that new job interview, or just being a parent and having your attention span cut in half. Earlier today I was talking with our house keeping manager and we came up with a check list of the top five places you should look before checking out of your hotel room. We hope that using this list is quick and easy way to remember some of those items we all commonly leave behind.

1. Check all the wall outlets.

The most commonly left behind item is the cell phone, mp3, laptop, Kindle, Nintendo or PlayStation chargers. These are so easy to overlook, and sometimes hard or expensive to replace.

2. The bathroom counter.

The makeup or bathroom bags are handy little bags that hold all your toiletries in one place. Yet these handy items seem easy to forget and are left behind many times. We don’t always go back into the bathroom on our way out, but we should. While you are checking the sink area for this bag, don’t forget to look in the shower for any shampoos you might have missed.

3. The night stand, and the floor around it.

There are many odds and ends that we pull out of our pockets at the end of the night that get stacked on the night stands. Watches, wallets, work ID cards, wedding rings, bracelets, glasses and medications are most commonly left here or knocked off the night stand accidentally. Take a second and scan the area, while shampoo is easy to replace realizing you left your wallet on the night stand can make traveling become difficult at best.

4.  The pillow

Many of us, me included, can not sleep without our own pillow. Yet this item may be one of the most overlooked items when glancing around the room before check out. It just fits in. Pillows belong on the bed. One of the easiest was to avoid leaving this precious item behind is putting a outrageous colored pillow case on it. Most hotel pillows are going to be white, or off white. Try throwing your pillow in a bright orange or pink pillow case, you can usually find them in the kids section of any department store, you won’t miss that when doing a quick look around.

5. The closet

I can not tell you how many pairs of running shoes I have mailed back to guests, sometimes jackets or hoodies. On the rare occasion a fanny pack. These are commonly left in the closest and forgotten. Just before you leave the room, even if you think you have everything, just open the closet and take a quick look around. Especially if you are like me and are from some where warmer and traveling somewhere cooler. I personally always forget my jacket when leaving a hotel, because I’m not used to wearing one out.

There are many other areas that we could add to this list, but these top five places we think will help with the most commonly left behind items at hotels. Oh I will add as a side note, before leaving the hotel always taken a second and smile in the bathroom mirror. As much as we love your smile we don’t need you to leave those pearly whites behind.  (Yes, it does happen)

Saurkraut Ball Mixture:
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1 medium onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 can Spam, finely chopped (any flavor but I find hickory adds a special something)
1 TBP dried parsley
1/4 cup flour
1 qt saurkraut

Breading:
1 bowl of flour
1 bowl of egg and milk mixture
1 bowl of breading

1.) Melt butter in pan. Add onions and garlic and brown, stirring occasionally.
2.) Once onion is golden, stir in Spam pieces and cook until browned.
3.) Add parsley and stir into mix.
4.) Stir in flour 1 tablespoon at a time.
5.) Pour in saurkraut and stir until well blended. Cook on medium until mixture is heated through completely. Mixture should be thick and cohesive. If too thin, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time until desired thickness.
6.) Place mixture in a bowl and cover with wax paper or plastic wrap. Put bowl in the refrigerator overnight, preferably up to 24 hours.
7.) After resting overnight, remove mixture from refrigerator. Using a teaspoon to scoop out mixture, roll it into approx. 1 inch balls.
8.) Heat oil in deep fryer. Roll balls in the flour, then in the egg/milk, then in the breading. Place breaded balls in deep fryer until they float or about 5 minutes. Timing will change as you work on the batch. Balls should be a golden brown when removed from the oil.
9.) Place balls on cookie sheets lined with newspaper covered by paper towels to catch excess oil. Once the balls have cooled slightly, transfer to plate. Or simply eat from the cookie sheet. Most of all, ENJOY!

The Antique Automotive Club of America Museum will host a summer-style barbecue in its detail shop.

Join the museum for a Behind the Scenes Barbecue on Saturday, January 9th from 12 noon – 5 PM.

The AACA Museum will be hosting a summertime barbecue in the Museum’s detail shop!   For a fee of $15.00 per person, guests can enjoy entrance into the Museum, and a behind the scenes barbecue in the detail shop — our ultimate garage!

Choose from a Pulled Pork sandwich, or a Beef Brisket Sandwich or a Smoked Chicken along with a side item, iced tea or lemonade.  Additional food items and $2 draft beer will also be available for purchase.  Visitors not on this package will not be permitted into the detail shop area.

This is the perfect time to visit the Museum as there are lots of special vehicles on display right now:  Seven significant vehicles from the JWR Museum Collection, GM Futurliner #10, Pittsburgh’s Famous Stainless Steel Cars, 1953 Cadillac LeMans Dream Car #3 and more than 20 Camaros & Firebirds from 1967-2010!

So break away from the winter doldrums and visit the AACA Museum for A World Class Automotive Experience and a fun Behind the Scenes Barbecue!

The event’s hours are noon-5 p.m.  Pay admittance at the door.